Venezuela pets go hungry as economic crisis deepens

Venezuela pets go hungry as economic crisis deepens

1of14A dog pokes his head out from under a door at a shelter in Caracas.Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

2of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, abandoned dogs gather for feeding time at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at Venezuela's parks, shelters, and private clinics. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

3of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, abandoned dogs gather for feeding time at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at Venezuela's parks, shelters, and private clinics. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

4of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, an abandoned dog so skinny his ribcage is visible waits to be fed at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. Forced to choose between feeding themselves or their beloved cats and dogs, middle class Venezuelans are abandoning their pets in the streets in never-seen-before numbers. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

5of14In this July 21, 2016 photo, Katty Quintas, part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, plays with her pet dog Sissis at the private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. A popular food substitute for dogs, that would never have been considered in better times, is chickenfeed. 'We have to give it to them because there's nothing else,' said Quintas. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

6of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, Dexis Casadiego, a veterinarian and part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, caresses an abandoned dog at the private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at Venezuela's parks, shelters, and private clinics. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

7of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, Katty Quintas, part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, comes across an abandoned dog rummaging in the trash in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. In Caracas it has become common to see purebred dogs rummaging in the trash or lying outdoors, filthy and gaunt. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

8of14This July 21, 2016 photo shows a stethoscope and a wall decorated with the diplomas of veterinarian Dexis Casadiego, in her home which she has converted into the private animal shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. The shelter is currently home to more than 200 cats and dogs. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

9of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, Dexis Casadiego, a veterinarian and part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, examines an abandoned cat at the private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at Venezuela's parks, shelters, and private clinics. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

10of14In this Aug. 21, 2016 photo, a man and his pet dog attend a protest march to bring attention to the growing number of pet abandonments, and to demand a price reduction of pet food, in Caracas, Venezuela. Pet owners say the price of dog food has more than doubled in recent months to $2 a pound, more than a day's pay for those earning the minimum wage. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

11of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, three rescued cats watch from the top of a fridge as their food is prepared at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. The economic crisis that is leading to widespread shortages and hunger among Venezuelans is also taking its toll on the country's four-footed inhabitants. Forced to choose between feeding themselves or their beloved cats and dogs, middle class Venezuelans are abandoning their pets. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

12of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, Dexis Casadiego, a veterinarian and part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, grooms an abandoned dog at the private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela. In Caracas it has become common to see purebred dogs rummaging in the trash or lying outdoors, filthy and gaunt, in posh neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

13of14In this Aug. 21, 2016 photo, a woman and her pet dogs take part in a protest march to bring attention to the growing number of pet abandonments, and to demand a price reduction of pet food, in Caracas, Venezuela. Pet owners say the price of dog food has more than doubled in recent months to $2 a pound, more than a day's pay for those earning the minimum wage. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

14of14In this July 23, 2016 photo, a quarantined cat sits in a cage at the private shelter Funasissi, in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela, after he was rescued on the streets, abandoned by his owners. As Venezuela's economic crisis deepens, food shortages and rising poverty are forcing once-middle-class Venezuelans to do the unthinkable and let their pets starve, or abandon them in the streets. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Photo: Fernando Llano, STF

CARACAS, Venezuela - Carlos Parra used to love waking up to see his pet albino boxer, Nina. Now, seeing her skeletal body on the floor next to his bed has become a daily reminder of the economic crisis engulfing Venezuela.

His other dog's thick fur barely hides her ribcage as Parra struggles to feed his pets after losing his job at a shoe store.

"It's terrible to sit and eat, see them watching me with hunger, and not be able to do anything," said the 30-year-old.

As Venezuela's economic crunch worsens, food shortages and rising poverty are forcing once middle-class Venezuelans to do the unthinkable: let their pets starve or abandon them in the streets.

No figures are available, but activists and veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number of dogs and cats abandoned at parks, clinics and shelters.

In Caracas, it has become common to see purebred dogs rummaging in the trash or lying outdoors, filthy and gaunt, in posh neighborhoods.

The animal protection and control center in the capital saw as many as 10 animals abandoned each day this summer, head veterinarian Russer Rios said. Up to about a year ago there were almost none.

"Now people just leave them here because they can't take care of them," Rios said.

Shelters are running classes teaching pet owners to look for food substitutes in the hopes of helping them maintain their pets through the crisis. At one private shelter in Caracas, a popular alternative for dogs that would never have been considered in better times is chickenfeed.

"We have to give it to them because there's nothing else," Katty Quintas, a part owner of the Funasissi shelter. The shelter is now home to more than 200 cats and dogs.

This spring, 72 horses died from starvation or malnutrition at the Santa Rita racetrack in the western city of Maracaibo.

Caracas homemaker Maria Galindo is offering Princess, her 5-year-old golden retriever, for adoption. So far, the dog has survived on scraps the neighbors give her.

"We're very sad to have to give her up, but the crisis is not giving us another option," Galindo said, looking at Princess' bones sticking out from her yellow fur. "You're thinking, 'If I give the dog something to eat, what will I feed the children?'"